HISTORY CHANNEL****FOR SHAME***AMERICAN PICKERS

Have you ever heard of the free market system? It is perfectly acceptable in this country to buy something for a dollar and sell it for ten. It is also perfectly acceptable to refuse to sell an item. It is also acceptable to let your possessions gather dust in a barn, attic, shed or basement. There is nothing immoral about what American Pickers are doing. They are business men, trying to make a living, legally. Not all these so called "victims" are elderly, most of them are packrats though and see an opportunity to make a few bucks for themselves if they even decide to sell. I guess to your way of thinking these folks should just die with all of their things stored away and let their heirs profit from it. You are a left wing idiot.

THIS is what is wrong with america. A bunch of idiots bickering about a buisness. Do something useful. But since im in a hypocritical mood, i will share my opinion.

They give them money for to them stuff they never woulda sold anyways, and refurbish it and give it to people who will appreciate it more. Also theyre cleaning out their spaces. Jesus im 13 and im guessing i know how to spell better than most of you.

When I first saw the name of this show I thought it was a show about real pickers, people who stack pallets with orders for a grocery store, clothing store (etc). When I watched an episode all I saw was two guys hasseling an old man for his belongings and over-staying thier welcome. I think a show about actual order pickers would be a major improvment.

To the sad people that like a show like this or pawn stars (like the kid a few posts up) These guys are sifting through junk, you must be very easy to entertain. None of the crap they have "rescued" is real history. Why dont you go to a yardsale in real life? and then watch real history on TV.

if the seller agrees to the price and is happy, i see nothing wrong, although I would truly hate to sell something worth a lot for a steal of a price.

To an 88 yr old guy who likely paid less than a dollar for something, to get $5 or more may seem like a great deal for him, and he is likely not savvy enough to use ebay.

The buyer is taking a risk as well.

You're an idiot.By that logic, it's okay for you to trade a kid some candy for the gold necklace her grandmother gave her at her baptism.If I knew an old person who was in posession of an item of great value but that person wasn't aware of the value of the item, I would let them know it's real value and if they desired, I would introduce them to a buyer.You probably think it's okay to buy foreclosed properties at auction and profit at the expense of someone else's misfortune.But then again, that's the beauty of the capitalist system, isn't it?It's what America is all about. You can go into another country and take what you want and pay what you want and if they don't agree you just deny them access to the market, impose sanctions on them, and starve them into submission.And stupid fucks like you are only too happy to share in the spoils.

The American Picker guys are not ripping off anyone. Period. They have to make a profit. They have to spend time and gas money and advertising to sell the antiques. And after expenses, they have to make a profit, a living wage. they are doing a service to the farmers by giving them cash for junk that would stay in the barn until the farmer dies. Then an auctioneer would come and sell the estate and take a large profit too. If the farmer wants more cash for his junk, he should advertise it on the internet or on ebay. The farmers should be happy, they got rid of junk for no expense and little trouble. The American Picker guys are not cheating anyone. It is business. buy low, sell high.

Most of the shit they buy is absolutely worthless to the owners. If people didn't sit on there shit and move something around there would be an economy in this country. If only in keeping good care of valuable old things.

Look at the money in your pocket. Do you have any star notes. Did you know a certain 2003 B* dollar bill is worth over $100 depending on the condition. People don't see the value of rare things that may be right under there freakin nose. Sometimes it doesn't have to be old to be valuable, and it doesn't have to be valuable to everybody to have value to somebody.

No they are not ripping old people off. They are offering a fair price for stuff that would probably just lay around and rot anyway. I don't think grandma's and grandpa's in their 70's & 80's are going to be putting stuff in an auction that they've hung onto for 30 to 50 years anytime soon. To them it's memories, thinking it's worthless to anyone else. This way they get a little money in their pockets and someone else might love it as much as they did. Yeah they make some profit, but that's business. At the same time America's history is preserved. A time when this country actually manufactured things the world actually bought.

Have you NEVER been to a tag sale, yard sale, garage sale in your entire life? Never bought something for less than its value? These people who agree to sell their stuff also agree to be on television while doing it. They can say no at any point. It is you who are thinking less of these older folks.Takes two to pick. So, pick another show to watch.

We get the powers over us that we've earned collectively. Humanity, as a whole, is self-interested, shallow, ignorant, violent and immoral; small wonder, therefore, that our leaders (secret or otherwise) reflect that. You want better leaders, become better people.

I love these guys. If I could ever get out of Corporate America I would do anything (almost:) to be a full time picker myself and can't even imagine the thrill of going on a freestyling picking trip with Mike and Frank. I have read some of the posts and I know that there are some people out there that think that they (or any picker) is somehow coercing people out of their valuable possessions for pennies on the dollar. This is not true at all. This stuff is junk to the people that they are buying it from. Sitting around, collecting dust, rusting, hidden in a pile of rubble etc which is why the name Antique Archaeology is SO fitting! They are unearthing items and in alot of circumstances restoring them to their original beauty and enabling people to add them to their collections that have a true appreciation for the item. Also, they are not pressuring the people to sell and back off quickly if someone does not want to. Also, on many occasions have even given the people more than what they had even asked for. There are some items that they majorly scored on and others not so much (how about the car that Frank had to have!:) Win some lose some, but that is part of the thrill of it all.

Mike, Frank..if you guys read this blog I would LOVE to hear from you! I have some amazing stories of my own that I could share. I would here but someone might think that they are "appalling" because I sold the items for much more than I paid. Bottom line is that I too rescued the items and the people that I bought them from were thrilled and then I was thrilled when I sold them and the people that were thrilled that bought them from me! What could be better than that??Thanks so much for such a fun exciting show and to learn more about the both of you and the warm, caring, kindness that you both exude with the people that you come in contact with.

I tend to agree. I got the feeling that the two guys more or less looked down on these people. Nothing wrong with buying the stuff, but they should be respectful of whoever they are buying or attempting to buy from.

I noticed that when these to rat face bastards were buying(stealing) items from these old people they would giggle and smile like greedy thieves that got away with screwing yet another old person.

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 868648

God you people are a bunch of WHINY FUCKS, yes they are fuckin these old people over on their old junk they never use or haven't even seen in 80 goddamn years its called capitalism its a fucking business just like pawn shops do they rape you then turn around and make 3 times as much bc they can it's not like these old bastards can take it to the grave with em id do in a heart beat if i could make some cash doing it,so stop fuckin whining and just watch the show or don't

The people that hate this show are true liberals.always wanting a free handout and not do anything for it.before you start trashing people that are just making a living, why don't you try buying and selling old stuff for a while.buy the time you add all your costs on top of what you pay for a item, you only make a small profit.what you hear and what really happens are two completely different things.if you think buying something for one price and selling it for a profit is wrong, then you haven't worked for a honest living.

The editing is garbage and the show has an overall weak presentation. They never actually produce real numbers on what the items are sold for. It's always a "value" given by the guys who bought the junk.

So the show revolves around two dorks going from house to house, where waivers have been signed, who spend time talking to old folks who are happy to have the company most of the time. They occasionally buy some junk.

Neat.

Reality t.v. is garbage people. [not that sitcoms and other shit are any better]

I like the show....matter of fact, I'd like to see a series based on dumpster diving......back when Ebay was still a decent auction site, I made pretty good money from found stuff....every garbage day was a hunt for the best stuff....you'll be surprised at what people throw away.....

I don[t understand what the fuss is about. Anytime any one of us buys something it has been purchased by the seller for far less. These guys spend a lot of time and money traveling the country looking for this stuff. Then they have to spend time and money to find a buyer. EVERYTHING you buy has been marked up. I don't get it. This is how people make a living. Not to mention that it's these people's CHOICE to sell or not. They probably paid fifty cents for half this crap fifty years go. If it's a good deal to them, they sell, if not they don't. I saw one episode where the guys paid hundreds for a bike the lady found on the side of the road. Where is the moral outrage that this old lady ripped them off? There shouldn't be any. The guys thought it was worth it and bought it. I don't buy iced tea at restaurants because two bucks forit is a rip off to me. That's my choice, though.

I have not read the entire thread, so I don't know if this was brought up. I figured that the people were probably paid something for allowing the segment with them and their stuff being aired.

But either way, they don't have to sell the stuff, or even allow the guys on their property, so I don't really see anything wrong with it. Anytime you buy anything, chances are the person/store you are buying it from paid a lot less for it.

Just like Pawn Stars.... Give the woman $7,500 for the ship bell .... when the man said she could get $25,000 for it...........and she took the $7,500 ... what an idiot...

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Quoting: Anonymous Coward 529538

Pawn Stars is WAYYYYY different!!! When you go into a Pawn Shop to get money you are in need of the money and you have an item that you are trying to Pawn or Sell you want the money and want to sell the item for as much as you can get for it and the pawn shop has the prerogatives to give the person as little money as they want because they seller wants to get money... However... on American "Stealers" they go into peoples homes, people who don't unnecessarily need the money.. those slime balls on American Pickers take advantage of the people who let them on there property rather then giving them a fair price for something they know they can resell at a specific amount they try to low ball them on everything